


Little Things

by pickledragon



Category: Batman: The Animated Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, batman dies (as he is wont to do) and eternity moves ever onward, i mean "sweet" whoops, short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 18:39:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16164602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickledragon/pseuds/pickledragon
Summary: The propane tank explodes and when the flames have calmed down enough for an elderly man dressed in a suit to gently wave away the smoke, there's a man lying on the ground, his limbs splayed in unnatural directions and his cowl slipping ever so slightly off his face.An alternate ending to Ep. 51, The Man Who Killed Batman.





	Little Things

There is no happy ending. 

The call goes out around 11. Run of the mill, fire on South Street. 

The propane tank explodes and when the flames have calmed down enough for an elderly man dressed in a suit to gently wave away the smoke, there's a man lying on the ground, his limbs splayed in unnatural directions and his cowl slipping ever so slightly off his face. 

There's no pulse. Alfred knows, because he checks at least a dozen times, his hands shaking as he presses down, hard on Bruce's chest. Quick, heavy pushes, meant to simulate a heartbeat that, no matter how many times he tries, just won't return. 

He takes the body. Leaves the cowl.  
They get the message. 

Gordon is the first one to arrive at the scene. The mask does its work. He understands. 

Bullock gets one good look at the debris and turns tail. He mutters to himself. His eyes glisten. Tonight, 2 local mob safe houses will be discovered and neutralized, all off book. 

Montoya's hand flies to her heart and she wordlessly rests her hand on Gordon's shoulder. They stand together, facing the dying flames. 

A phone rings in the dead of night. Dick Grayson blearily stumbles over to pick it up. 

Life moves on. 

The Joker has his madcap funeral for Sid the Squid. The coffin is lost in swirling acid. 

Bruce Wayne quietly takes a vacation to some exotic locale or another. It isn't important, say the tabloids.

A controversial obituary is ran in the paper, lauding a vigilante, a civil servant, a martyr. Just another dead, good man in a line extending to infinity. It is silently passed throughout the whole city, and pieces of it lie in the street. 

Dick is slowly instated as the heir apparent to Wayne Enterprises. 

Crime slows down in Gotham. Some might call it a blessing. Gordon calls it a vigil. 

Batman is buried beside his parents, in the dead of night. 

Bruce Wayne goes missing and is lost at sea. He doesn't make a ripple. 

After a month, crime in the city gradually increases. Gordon is back at his desk, twenty-four hours a day. The pile gets higher. 

Barbara starts to consider a career in detective work. 

Robin prepares to lead. 

Alfred dusts off his pilot's license. 

They move forward.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: learningthomas.tumblr.com


End file.
